EURO 2024 – Georgia 1-1 Czechia

Patrik Schick canceled out Georges Mikautadze’s strike as Georgia and the Czech Republic played to a 1-1 draw at the Volksparkstadion in their Euro 2024 Group F encounter. The draw leaves both sides with one point each after two matches. Portugal and Turkey, who play later, both have three points. Georgia will complete their group stage with a match against Portugal, while the Czech Republic will face Turkey.

Report

Georgia and Czechia played to a 1-1 draw in their second group stage match at EURO 2024 on Saturday afternoon, featuring several players currently active in Serie A.

Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the sole Serie A representative in either team’s starting lineup, despite concerns over an injury sustained during Georgia’s warm-up. The 23-year-old recovered in time and played for 82 minutes before making way for Saba Lobzhanidze of Atlanta United.

Czechia appeared to have taken the lead in the first half through Adam Hlozek, but his goal was disallowed following a VAR review for handball. Shortly before halftime, Georgia capitalized on a handball in the Czech area, with Georges Mikautadze converting the penalty to give them a 1-0 advantage.

The Czechs equalized just shy of the hour mark through Patrik Schick’s goal. As the match progressed, Luka Lochoshvili of Cremonese came on for Georgia, replacing Dinamo Batumi’s Georgiy Tsitaishvili. Fiorentina’s Antonin Barak also entered the fray for Czechia, substituting Lukas Provod in the final 10 minutes of normal time.

Both Georgia and Czechia now occupy the bottom two spots in Group F, but they still have opportunities to qualify depending on results from the Portugal vs. Turkey match and their performances in the final group stage fixtures next week.

PLAYER RATINGS

Georgia: G Mamardashvili 7, S Kverkvelia 5, G Kashia (c) 5 , L Dvali 6, O Kakabadze 6, A Mekvabishvili 5, G Kochorashvili 5 , H Tsitaishvili 6 (63’ Lochoshvili 4), G Mikautadze 7 (88’ Kvilitaia 5), K Kvaratskhelia 5 (82’ Lobzhanidze 4), Z Davitashvili 6 (62’ Chakvetadze 5)

Czech Republic: J Stanek 6, T Holes 4, R Hranác 4, L Krejci 5, T Soucek (c) 7, V Coufal 8*, L Provod 6 (81’ Barak 6), P Schick 7 (68’ Chytil 5), A Hlozek 4 (55’ Lingr 6), V Cerny 4 (55’ Jurasek 5)

Player of the Match – Vladimir Coufal

Vladimir Coufal, the West Ham defender, was exceptional both in attack and defense throughout the game. He consistently delivered dangerous crosses into the box and provided solid defensive coverage, playing a pivotal role in the Czech Republic’s comeback to keep their qualification hopes alive. Coufal’s commanding performance on and off the ball was instrumental in securing a crucial result for his team at EURO 2024.